The Tabletop Game Designers Association (TTGDA) and the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) have put together this guide to explain many of the issues surrounding tariffs.
https://irp.cdn-website.com/2b6905d0/files/uploaded/TTGDA_and_GAMA_Guide...
Guide to Tariffs v2
Wed, 06/18/2025 - 17:45
Sun, 06/22/2025 - 00:24
#1
Hmm... 145% Tariffs from all products coming from China...
Is DEVASTATING! I mean if you are in the process of making your orders for Christmas ... This is a DEADLY BLOW! I mean nobody can afford those kinds of Tariffs TBH. Margins are tight generally speaking and even when you have some "room to manoeuvre" royalties got to be paid... And eating up the small margins left over.
I guess the industry needs to re-think whom they do business with.
Like "Carta-Mundi" for Card Production in the USA (for boosters and such). Even people based in BC, Canada cannot claim that their products are NOT coming from China. They are but managed via BC... Not at all an alternative.
In the end BOARD GAMES are coming from China and they are the only manufacturers that are open for business. I don't know of any US-Based businesses (aside from The Game Crafter...) but I'm more thinking about the US equivalent of the Chinese businesses.
We'll have to wait and see how things de-escalate. China's involvement in Iran is questionable due to them buying a LOT of Oil from Iran... And Russia... Looks like we really do have an "Axis of Evil"... If you want to call it that.
Definitely not interested in Western interests either.
Anyhow... I hope the world balances itself out soon enough. And people can go back to normal business in a relatively short period of time.
I'm in Canada ... So I can still sell to Canadians ... But not to the USA which is a HUGE MARKET (10x the population of Canada). So who knows how all of that is going to play out...
We shall see... But for the moment, it doesn't look very good TBH!
Sun, 06/22/2025 - 16:45
#2
Just to be CLEAR...
If a Board Game costs $5.00 USD to make in China and we ADD 145% Tariffs, we get
$5.00 + 100% = $10.00 USD PLUS $5.00 + 45% = $2.25 USD = $12.25 USD.
Can you imagine that??? That is "crippling". There is no way ANY Publisher can afford this. Nobody can afford even 100% let alone 145%. It makes it impossible to manufacture and then ship to the USA.
Even if you ship to Canada and warehouse in Canada. The Tariffs are written as to not make any kind of confusion about "Consulting Fees" and "Location Manufactured"... As some companies try to hide around the SOURCE of production as being China.
In any case, we shall see how this gets RESOLVED... Even Trump's new Cell Phone is made in China for $499 USD which is still not too bad at $685 CAD! Considering it's a NEW phone and not pre-owned. I've bought Samsung Phones for about $500 CAD but they were pre-owned and we've not had any significant issues with them (I bought 3 of them...)
So it's a bit of a WIN... But still negotiations have to take place at some point in time SOON. Trump said the Tariffs with China and the Trade Dispute was practically resolved... That they had come to some kind of mutual agreement. We'll have to wait in the coming month to see if that is true and what the ramifications are!
Sincerely.
